Down to Earth Stroud

16/03/2026

Seed saving is about so much more than self sufficiency. It's part of global resilience, and a way of ensuring we have robust food supply systems and access to nutritious and diverse produce in the future.
Come along to our workshop - so much deeper than just saving seed, we'll go into the way this simple skill sits in the context of a wider global movement - and why it matters.

15/03/2026

A slightly belated announcement for International Womens' Day, but we would like to share this piece from Navdanya International on two films, Annapurna and Shakti, highlighting women at the forefront of seed justice and organic farming movements across India. Take a look at the link below to find out more...

https://navdanyainternational.org/international-womens-day-2026/

Stories of women farmers resisting corporate agriculture and reclaiming food, seed and community. On this International Women’s Day, we honour the women who defend life at its roots. We stand with …

27/02/2026

Another shout out about our upcoming developments:

We are looking for extra volunteers for our Sheepscombe site as well as for our Ebley and Selsey sites (which will involve our exciting new seed saving initiative)

Please get in touch if you are interested with Amanda via [email protected]

26/02/2026

FUNDRAISER NEEDED

We are currently planning on doing a fundraiser for our sister site in Sheepscombe as we are looking to develop the site and do groundworks as well as hire additional staff.

Our main hope is to get members of the local community involved with this process, so we're posting here for anyone who wants to be involved.

Please comment below if you are interested or get in touch with Amanda - [email protected]

26/02/2026

Just a shout out to this great organisation, which now has a fantastic opportunity open:

Earth Wisdom offers a reduced-cost counselling service for adults living in Gloucestershire and currently has no waiting list, enabling timely access to support.

Referrals are made via email to [email protected], after which a member of our team will make contact to arrange an initial assessment session.

The assessment provides an opportunity to explore presenting needs, suitability for the service, and appropriate therapeutic support.

18/02/2026

How are your potatoes doing? If you haven't started to see shoots, you will soon (while chitting them - look for the eyes)

We'll be posting regularly here as we are growing two of every variety, so watch this space to follow a wider experiment in how they do in different environments and why this kind of adaptation is crucially important when looking at the food security of the future.

We also want to say a belated thank you to Stroud Farmers' Market for our stall at potato day, as despite the rain it was a great occasion for us and we're looking forward to sharing more here....

13/02/2026

Looking for soft fruit bushes?

We want to shout out Good Small Farms - based on Wick Street in Stroud. Here's what they have to say about soft fruit:

"We have a small, organic certified nursery, growing plants for edible allotments and gardens. Our range includes named variety soft fruit bushes, rhubarb crowns and potted herbs, along with walnut trees and a small number of native broadleaf species.

Now is the perfect time to plant soft fruit bushes - while they are dormant. We supply ours bare root, grown in living, organic soils and lifted to order. Our soft fruit, including gooseberries, redcurrants and blackcurrants, are all propagated from cuttings taken from our own mother plants, and our rhubarb is grown from seed."

They do amazing work with local and native speciea so please get in touch with Michelle to show your interest: [email protected]

12/02/2026

Take a look at our video of Potato Day - and many thanks to Transition Stroud for all you help, especially Phillip!

https://youtu.be/2iht9T5k8lk

Thank you to all volunteers from Transition Stroud www.transitionstroud.org and Down To Earth www.downtoearthstroud.co.ukand for support from Dundry Nurserie...

11/02/2026

Check out our photos from potato day, and thanks to everyone who turned up despite the rain.

It was the wettest potato day on record, and all our varieties definitely got a wash! With over 22 kinds, our top sellers this year were Orla, Kestrel, and Charlotte - let us know in the comments if you picked any of these up and whether you have set them out to chit yet :)

05/02/2026

Last reminder about potato day :)

We will have a dazzling array of potato varieties at our market stall this coming weekend. From pink to blue to large and chunky to small salad potatos, come and see which ones take your fancy. Perfect as a growing project for families or to diversify your garden if you are a seasoned grower.

We will be there roughly the full market day until mid afternoon, and are happy to chat and offer advice too. Hope to see you soon!

05/02/2026

We're passionate about heirloom vegetables.... but did you also know about heirloom grains such as rice? All the benefits, challenges, and issues associated with the preservation of heirloom veg also apply to traditional grain varieties.

This is more important than ever - and is applicable on a global scale. Take a look at this one man who has been saving rare rice varieties in India, where preservation of heirlooms is particularly significant in the context of the work of Vandana Shiva: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct6x5l

Debal Deb has spent 30 years collecting, growing and sharing 1492 rare types of rice.

30/01/2026

We didn't know this when we signed up - but apparently we were the FIRST organisation across in the UK to sign the Safe Seed Pledge.

We would love for them to be better known, so watch this space as we will share more about the criteria that make up the pledge such as open pollination and non GMO seeds.